# Valerian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/valerian/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Valerianus |
| US babies named this | 503 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 497 / 6 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From Latin Valeriānus, from Valerius.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1917 | 6 | 4,551 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 7 | 3,486 |
| 1965 | 5 | 4,404 |
| 1970 | 10 | 3,269 |
| 1980 | 5 | 7,248 |
| 2004 | 5 | 13,113 |
| 2009 | 5 | 14,375 |
| 2010 | 5 | 14,131 |
| 2018 | 24 | 4,343 |
| 2019 | 14 | 6,386 |
| 2020 | 14 | 6,266 |
| 2021 | 17 | 5,542 |
| 2022 | 18 | 5,424 |
| 2023 | 13 | 6,864 |
| 2024 | 15 | 6,165 |
| 2025 | 23 | 4,526 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Վալերիան
- Russian: Валериа́н

## People named Valerian

- Valerian Gracias, Catholic cardinal (1901–1978)
- Valerian Maduka Okeke, Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Archdiocese
- Valerian Madatov, 19th century Russian general
- Valerian Gaprindashvili, Georgian poet (1888–1941)
- Valerian of Abbenza, Christian saint
- Valerian Sidamon-Eristavi, Georgian painter
- Lars Ahlfors, Finnish mathematician (1907-1996)
- Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, English peer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.